Make Your Own A-Frame Tent

We love a-frame tents, so we invited Rubyellen to share her method for making your own. Are you excited? Here's how the magic happens-1. From the top of each moulding, measure and mark 6" down with your pencil. 2. With your drill and 3/4" spade bit, drill a hole at your mark. Try to center the hole on your moulding. These holes will be for the top of your A-frame tent. 3. From the opposite end of your moulding, measure and mark 1.5" down with your pencil. 4. With your drill and 3/4" spade bit, drill a hole at your mark. Try to center the hole on your moulding. These holes will be for the bottom of your A-frame tent.

Making the cover: Since the cover is made using a vintage crocheted cloth, what you have readily available to use may be a different measurement. The key size to get your tent cover is about 44" – 51" in length and about 80" – 84" in width, so depending on the size of your crocheted cloth, your crocheted cloth to panel fabric proportion may vary from the one used. In fact, on our tent, the crocheted cover is slightly larger than the fabric panel by an inch or so on each side. If you have a crocheted cover large enough and don't need a fabric panel, an option would be to fold the bottom of your crocheted cover to create a panel in which to feed your dowel through. Be creative, there are a lot of fun possibilities to use for a tent cover!

(Hint: A twin sized sheet fits this tent frame almost perfectly!)1. Cut the fabric to the size needed. In our case, it was 14" x 53". For the 14" side, fold over 1/2" and press, and fold over 1/2" again and press. Pin in place. Repeat with the opposite side. Do this for both panels. Then, use a sewing machine to stitch the hem. With the 53" side, place the right sides together and stitch using a 1/2" seam. Repeat for second panel. Turn inside out and press. 2. Place the long side of crocheted cloth and fabric together with right sides together, pin in place, and stitch together using a 1/2" seam. Repeat with second panel for the opposite side. 3. Group dowels into pairs and line up the top holes. Push dowel through the holes of the top moulding (6" down from top). The hole should have a pretty tight grip and keep the dowel in place. Repeat with the dowels for the opposite end. Drape your tent cover on top. 4. Grab another dowel and push through the holes on the bottom of one side and feed through the bottom panel and connect the dowel to the opposite end. Repeat for second dowel on the opposite side. Open up the tent cover to desired width and height of opening. Grab a pillow, blanket, go underneath and enjoy!

TIPS: For a little extra detail and to keep the tent cover taut, I fed twine through some holes of the cover and tied it to the legs of the frame. This helps prevent the tent cover from sagging. Also, if you are using this on wood floors the legs may have a hard time staying up. I find that if you put your tent on top of a blanket it will help it from just falling flat.

Again, how you make this tent cover will vary depending on the size of the crocheted cover you find and decide to use. I just happen to come across a cover that was almost the exact size I needed, so I didn't have to really piece together too much. Nevertheless, it will look beautiful with lots of little crocheted pieces put together or even with just one large piece as a cover. Just remember, have fun making it and after you will have a special little hideaway to enjoy!

Thanks so much, Ruby! We hope you guys have fun building your own tents. xo, elsie

that is so pretty! I think i need to make one of these for my son for sure. I have been eying some vintage blue curtains that I haven’t bought because I had no real use for them… looks like i found one 🙂

Is it weird that I want to make one of these for my dog? She’s always sleeping under a bed or under the recliner with a blanket hanging down. She’s kind of like my child, so I’m pretty sure I need to make this for her.

I’m so glad you invited Rubyellen because if I’m not mistaken, I think she’s the one who started the diy tent. I remember seeing it a long time ago and made one myself. Since then, I’ve seen a lot of them blogged and pinned. Thanks, Rubyellen, you obviously inspired a lot of people!

This is a great idea! I will be making one for my nephew for christmas. He is a little whirlwind – so I am thinking that I will add a second panel of material across the bottom to prevent the slippage you mentioned. I think the tent will hold up better and still be able to fold away, no problem!

I always love your DIYs, but this is one that I HAVE to make! I’ll post it on my blog once I do!! I just did a blogpost with my latest thrifted finds, and some handmade embroidery I’ve been doing. Stop by and have a look!

What a great project! Our children learned a lot from this. We went to a fabric store in our neighborhood and they got to pick their very own pattern! Their grandmother hemmed the edges with her old Singer! We even added fairy to the top portion! Thank you.